Chapter 23: Easter Egg
Li Ping’an had carefully deliberated before deciding to keep the first option. In this era of highly developed information and heightened concern for data privacy, a segment of users remained extremely wary of their personal information. They believed that once data was uploaded to the cloud, it faced the risk of leakage, thereby compromising their privacy. To respect the needs and concerns of these users, Li Ping’an specifically retained the local storage option. Furthermore, if a user selected this path, the "Pet Elf" would use intelligent voice prompts to remind them that uninstalling the application would result in the loss of their pet’s "memories," ensuring users fully understood the pros and cons before making their choice.
To boost sales of character skins, Li Ping’an had racked his brains and exhausted his mental energy. Under his meticulous programming, pets without skins would occasionally "act spoiled" via voice, using cute and playful language to beg their owners to purchase a skin for them. He felt that, combined with the powerful voice features of the new version, a large number of users would surely be unable to resist this adorable "offensive," leading them to recharge their accounts and purchase skins, thereby generating more revenue for the software.
After finishing his work, Li Ping’an slowly stood up, stretched his stiff body, and walked downstairs with tired yet slightly relieved steps. Downstairs, Li Ya was sitting by the bonfire to keep warm, the dancing flames casting a warm, orange glow across her face. Perhaps due to spending so much time by the fire lately, her skin was noticeably darker than when she was at school. Hearing footsteps, Li Ya instinctively looked up toward the kitchen door. When she saw her brother, she was momentarily stunned, a flash of surprise in her eyes.
"Brother? Why are you down here?" Li Ya asked, puzzled.
"Work is done. What else would I be doing?" Li Ping’an replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to his sister. He slowly closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth radiating from the bonfire. The heat seemed to seep into every pore, causing him to squint contentedly, a look of comfort spreading across his face. Seeing his relaxed expression and knowing how hard he had worked over the past two days, Li Ya didn't press him further.
The Spring Festival, that beautiful moment symbolizing family reunion, had finally arrived. For the first time in three years, the little villa—which had gone without Spring Festival couplets for that entire time—was once again adorned with vibrant red couplets, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Li Ping’an and Li Ya, welcoming the arrival of the New Year. It must be said that once the bright red couplets were pasted on, the entire villa seemed to be infused with life, radiating vitality and presenting a brand-new appearance.
Just then, the phone in Li Ping’an’s pocket chirped with a text notification. At first, he didn't pay it much mind, nor did he feel like checking it immediately. After all, he had been flooded with messages over the past two days, receiving no fewer than five a day on average. Most of them were advertisements from various brands, which was quite overwhelming. He figured he would check them slowly when he had some free time.
Wearing a floral apron, Li Ping’an finally had a moment to pick up his phone after finishing his chores. When he saw the first message in his inbox, he froze, and then a look of overwhelming joy bloomed on his face. It was the approval notification for the "Pet Elf" software; the new version had been successfully pushed to the vast user base! He was thrilled and immediately opened the Xiaomi App Store. Sure enough, the update prompt for the new version of "Pet Elf" was clearly visible. Amidst his joy, he couldn't help but feel nervous, wondering just how many users would be willing to pay for the software's new features. To him, everything else was illusory; only the money actually in his pocket was real and reliable. "I hope I won't be too disappointed..."
On New Year's Eve, just like in previous years, Li Ping’an politely declined the warm invitations from his uncle and his great-uncle's family, choosing to stay home with his sister for this special night. The siblings spent the entire afternoon working together to cook a table full of sumptuous dishes. Even though it was just the two of them, Li Ping’an had insisted on preparing a full spread every New Year's Eve for the past three years. He knew they couldn't possibly eat it all, but he felt that this was the only way to fill the home with the rich atmosphere of the festival and let his sister feel the warmth and joy of the holiday.
In the bright dining room, Li Ping’an uncharacteristically picked up a wine bottle and poured a glass of "red wine" for his sister. In truth, the so-called red wine was nothing more than grape juice, but that didn't dampen the joyous atmosphere. Li Ping’an raised his glass, beaming, and said to his sister, "Come on, let's toast."
"Cheers!" Li Ya shouted boldly, not to be outdone. They clinked glasses and downed the grape juice in one go.
"Brother, this red wine tastes wrong. Why does it taste exactly like grapes?"
Li Ping’an had bought it at the supermarket himself; how could he not know it wasn't red wine? Facing his sister's confusion, he remained calm and replied, "Isn't red wine made from grapes? It's perfectly normal for it to taste like grapes."
Li Ya figured her brother must have bought a fake and was too embarrassed to admit it. Well, whether it was real red wine or not didn't matter; what mattered was the family reunion!
As the Spring Festival Galas in recent years had become increasingly lacking in creativity and interest, Li Ping’an and Li Ya had long since abandoned the tradition of staying up all night. They felt that rather than staying up late in front of the TV to watch a boring show, it was better to crawl into a warm bed and get some comfortable rest.
Back in his room, Li Ping’an, already lying in bed, forced himself to reply to messages of blessing from friends and family, but he was so exhausted that he forgot to check the subscription numbers for "Pet Elf." The high-intensity work of the past few days felt like a heavy mountain pressing down on him, leaving both his body and mind in a state of extreme fatigue. Even as a short video of someone dancing played on his phone screen, he could no longer resist the onset of sleep and gradually drifted off into a dream.
When the New Year bells rang, users who had updated to the latest version of "Pet Elf" were pleasantly surprised to find that a cute pet image popped up on their screens. Accompanied by cheerful special effects, the pets playfully displayed New Year's greetings. This small, carefully designed Easter egg was like a brilliant firework blooming in the night sky—short-lived yet dazzling—bringing a warm and fun little surprise to those users who hadn't yet fallen asleep and were still immersed in the New Year atmosphere. It allowed them to feel the unique charm and sincerity of the software at the very start of the new year.